Parkinson's is no match for this amazing CrossFit family

Jake Duhon, who has Parkinson's disease, has been a member of Ragin' Crossfit for more than a year. On Saturday, his friends at the Lafayette gym surprised him with a car so he could get back and forth to his workouts safely.
Kristin Askelson

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Lindsay and JeremyHohle pose with Jake Duhon and his son, Elijah after the Hohle's gym, Ragin' CrossFit raised money to buy Duhon a new car.(Photo: Kristin Askelson/The Advertiser)Buy Photo

Jake Duhon knew something was up. His friends at Ragin' CrossFit were all watching him and many had their phones out to take photos.

Jake, who has Parkinson's disease, has been a member of the crossfit gym for more than a year. He says working out is the best medicine for his disease. His fitness has improved as a result of his consistent workouts and he's made many new friends.

"It's a comfort zone for me where I'm accepted on my good days and bad days," Jake said.

On Saturday morning, those friends gave Jake the surprise of a lifetime.

Jake recently lost his vehicle when he couldn't afford to keep up with the payments and get it repaired. Because he was so committed to his workouts, he borrowed a bicycle and rode it to the gym, having to cross many busy roads.

Jake is such an inspiration to others at the gym, owner Jeremy Hohle said. That's why dozens of them pitched in to buy him a car to get him safely back and forth to his workouts.

"Ragin' CrossFit is a very strong community inside and out of the gym," Hohle said. It's an awesome group of people, he said, and they wanted Jake to know how much he means to them.

With the help of Jake's best friend, they managed to get him to the gym Saturday. The giant card with his name on it was his first clue there was something in the works. But until the Toyota 4Runner pulled up and Hohle handed him the keys, he could never imagine how far his crossfit would go to help him.